The Washington critic., 1887-05-16

II was sure to be rewarded with stick.
Whenever he was under the influence Of
liquor in any Of the villages he would buy
candy, and walk the streets and distribute
1t among all the children he met. lie wrote
great deal, nearly all OF his spare time be-
ing employed In that way. He had large
packages OF manuscript, but as he kept II
very close no one ever knew what 1t was.
In comparing
his HANDWRITING
with that Of Marshal Ney could trace o
striking resemblance in many Of the letters,
and he had the same popularity Of making
flourish with the pen at the close of his
signature. He often wrote words OF advice
or lines Of poetry In the school books or
autograph albums Of his pupils. He wrote
the following significant lines In the AUTO
graph album of one OF his school girls, dated
May 20, 1886;
Though OF the chosen, the choicest,
To fame gave her loftiest tone;
Though 'mong the brave, the bravest,
My plume and my baton are gone.
My eagle that mounted to conquest
Hath stopped from his altitude high,
A prey to a vulture the foulest
No moro TO visit the sky.
ono sigh for the hopes that have perishel
One tear for the wreck of the past,
One look upon all have cherished,
One lingering look, 'tis the last.
And now from remembrance Danish
The glories that shown In my train;
o, vanish, fond memories, vanish,
Return not to sting me again
During the year 1925 the Savannah, Ga,
| papers created sensation one morning by
| publishing that one of Marshal Ney's sons
was In the city. A few days later 1t was
also published that he was closeted with the
| police the whole time he was there, and
that he quietly disappeared without any
one knowing where he had gone. About
the same time young man Visited Ney In
| Iredell County, remained In close confer
ence with him for several days aud left.
| Ney never told who his visitor was, but
some say who saw him that there was
striking resemblance between the two men.
One day when he was teaching on Hunt
| Ing Creek, In Iredell County, he had taken
| several drains, and, feeling rather commu.
NEGATIVE, took the boys to large fat sand
| bar left near the school after freshet, and
with stick marked of the plan Of the bat
| tie Of Waterloo In detail, aud showed the
| various points he occupied and where the
| five horses were killed under him.
While living In that reighborhood he did
| not get home III due time one night and his
| landlady sent two negro men to look for him.
| They found him on the roadside and placed
| him on horse, and, as he could not sit up,
| they put him across the animal so they
could hold him on. He exclaimed: "What,
| is this the way you treat the Duke OF
| Elchingen, like bag of meal" This was
| the ducsl title bestowed upon Ney from the
battle Of Ulm.
Caesar was his favcrite classic, and he
knew 1t almost by heart. lie very seldom
| had to refer to the book while the class was
rtciting. In commenting on Cwsar's bat
h,, TAIL
| Napoleon's, and always make his old leader
| the greater of the two.
He understood system OF shorthand
| writing which. upon investigation, was
| found to be different from any ever used In
| the United States. He taught II to several
OF his pupils. Being right well skilled in
this he would often write down speeches
and sermons as they were delivered. A
| Frenchman who once served under Marshal
| Ney afterwards moved to North Carolina
and lived In an adjoining county. One day
| he saw the old teacher on the streets In
| Statesville, and at once threw up his hands
and started to him, exclaiming,
"MoN DIEU MARSHAL NEY ~
Ney waved him off with his right hand
and placed the index finger over his lips
evidently indicating silence. A few hours
later the two Frenchmen were seen In prl.
yate conference.
i
days after the Battle Of Waterloo Marshal
Ney In a speech before the Court of Peers,
advised q treaty OF peace, and In the event
this plan was not adopted he said there pub
licly"I for my part Will go to America"
This shows that his mind was turned In this
direction previous to the day of execution
| About the year 1912 Frenchman named
LeMonesaco made a tour Of the Southern
States leoturing on "Napoleon's Cam
palgns," and while at Selma, Ala, he told a
| gentleman from North Carolina In private
| conversation that he
| KNEW THAT NEY ESCAPED
execution and that he was then In America.
The Carolipian was then about twenty-five
years old and had previous to that been one
Of Ney's students.
Some people may think that II the old
teacher was the Marshal he would have gone
| to BordeutOwB, N. j., aud there have male
his home with Joseph Bonaparte, whrwas
living there 10 line style as refugee from
the tLrOue ol spain. 70 these 1t may be
| said that II was through the efforts Of Nay
and other Marsbals that Spain was subdued
before Napoleon placed his brother on the
throne and then as Joseph proved so weak
minded that he could not retain the king
dom he was held in contempt by all those
who fought aud secured ior him that hlgs
position, aud NGy's soldlerly, conduct and
| bravery WOulu DOL allOW MIN 10 SUBMIT 10
charity from man for whom he had no re-
spect.
Some may also think that Ney would not
have been content with making known his
Identity to only few Of his best friends 10
this free country, and especially while SO
far in the interior-at least three hundred
miles from any great thoroughfare, and
almost under the shadow OF the Blue Ridge,
the dividing line between advanced clviliza
tion and the home OF Indians and Wild
animals; but II must be remembered that he
was brave man and man Of great honor,
and he was content to endure the privations
Of quiet life rather than create notorioty,
as he could easily have done, and thus per.
haps briug trouble upon the friends who
planned aud effected his escape
When the first class graduated at David
son College, in 1910, the trustees appointed
a committee to visit Ney and get him to
write form for q diploma. He wrote 1t In
few minutes, and 1t Is said the same form
is used to this day, though the college has
grown to be one among the best in the
South.
1t WAS during school one day when Ney
received newspaper announcing the death
OF young Napoleon. lie threw the paper
down aud seemed to 20 almost wild with
grief, lie turned to young mau in the
school and asked II he could eat the and
irons In the fireplace. When he was
answered In the negative he said there was
| much fnrder task before him than that,